bookedwithmelissa 's review for:

The Brave and The Reckless by Dilan Dyer

4.5

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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4.5⭐, 3.25🌶️

"Was 'feud' the right word to use when you wanted to kill someone by banging their brains out?"

Okay this was such a fun and unique spin on a cowboy romance! The location being and ole-western themed amusement park was SO COOL and I loved how each chapter started with facts bout the park. Like Im ready to take a trip to Busch Gardens now after reading this. 

I really enjoyed this story. Esra and Noah were such a fun "hate to love" romance and the dash of brothers best friend (that really didn't matter - which was a bonus for me) and forced proximity (because they are housemates in a shared staff housing center) was so cool. Like I said, this book was so unique from other stories I've read recently and definitely stood out. I loved that Noah and Esra both  had their own histories and struggles that played into the relationship (even if the third act break up was due to miscommunication...sigh...was not a fan). Esra's chronic illness had me so intrigued and I loved how that played into her character being interested in Noah's therapy horse project. 

NOW- lets talk about the spice in this book, because thats how the romance really started. I loved the mask play (because of the Ash costume) I loooved all the dirty talk and sneaking around. But i did feel like at times the spice took away from the overall love story for E&N, and once they were together, we lost the sass and snark. 

OKAY BUT were getting another book for Bravetown right?! because theres a former retired singer that needs to fall in love with her older former tour partner. Please and thank you Dilan! 

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!